6 Things to do in the Fall in the Hamptons

Fall is the perfect time to visit The Hamptons. It’s technically off season, but there’s plenty to do and experience during the autumn season. We did a day trip and managed to take in some culture, local seafood, several farms stands, a vineyard and a couple beach walks.

We started at the far end of Long Island in Montauk making our first stop at the Clam Bar. There are several seafood stands along Montauk highway. We have never been disappointed at the Clam Bar and it’s one of the few that doesn’t close for the season. They will even open on a warm day during the winter months. And there’s nothing more delicious than a bowl of clam chowder on a brisk day at an outside seafood stand.

Clam Bar – Montauk

One of our favorite beaches is Ditch Plains in Montauk. It’s one of the prettiest beaches and popular with local surfers. It’s great for collecting driftwood and stones. The great thing about going to The Hamptons off season is that you can park at any of the beaches without a permit. The beaches are practically empty. There’s just something about a quiet beach.

Ditch Plains – Montauk

Pike Farms – Sagaponack

We found a few farm stands throughout the towns on the main highway, but by chance we decided to go on one more beach walk and found Pike Farms on Sagg Main Road in Sagaponack. This is one of Ina Garten’s favorites and she mentions it in Barefoot Contessa at Home. Even in October, there’s plenty of heirloom tomatoes and late summer/fall vegetables. My husband insists these are the best tomatoes he’s ever tasted.

Wölffer Estate Vineyard – Sagaponack

It was a last minute decision to stop at the Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack. We could see as we drove by the grapes were ripe on the vines and the sun was setting. We turned around and pulled in to take a closer look. We ended up in the shop…naturally.  Since we don’t drink, we were thrilled to find out they also make non-alcoholic wines. We bought a few bottles of Verjus and a couple of 4-packs of Petite Rosé Verjus.

Parrish Art Museum – Water Mill

We had never been to the Parrish Art Museum and initially wanted to go to see the Helen Frankenthaler Exhibit which is showing through October 27th, 2019. The museum itself is amazing and it was only when I was editing the photos that I realized the design of the exterior showing the diagonal relationship with the site. The large building is in an extensive meadow of indigenous grasses that are a natural landscape of Long Island. 

Sagg Main Beach – Sagaponack

It was getting close to calling it a day, but we decided we could use one more walk on the beach and we are so happy we didn’t miss seeing Sagg Main Beach in Sagaponack. We collected (empty) large clam shells on this walk. Not sure what I’ll do with them, but they were just there…waiting for me to pick them up. Don’t worry there’s plenty more!

We love to explore our area and sometimes day trips can be last minute as opposed to an overnight. Check out this post if you are thinking of going for more than a day.